Has Your Prospect Opted-In?

Following on from last week’s blog which looked at a survey recently conducted by the DMA, we saw what businesses would need to do in order to cope with the latest GDPR changes.

When looking at business data or consumer data, most marketers felt that email would be the most affected by these changes. For example, email addresses change constantly, people change jobs or employ a new director and so contacts will obviously change at those times. As a marketer, you don’t want your customer to experience high bounce rates because email details are incorrect or for them to realise that you didn’t check the data prior to a campaign send, which you then find contain emails which aren’t opted-in.

If you are carrying out your email marketing campaigns thoroughly, have fresh and current data and have got enough of a brief from your client on what kind of prospects they would like to send the campaign out to, then you are halfway there; it makes no sense to send emails to those who have no interest in your product or service, or to those who have previously unsubscribed.

Consent To Phone Calls & Emails

Another issue that most marketers are faced with is the consent on the information given. Is it okay to email, call or send direct mail to this business or individual? When did they opt in, what information did they give and how often is this information checked? This is another helpful aspect of preference screening and why some people choose to be CTPS registered, as they do not want to receive any telephone calls.

Many businesses are unprepared or even unaware that there is a need to make sure that the data which they have in house has gone through the database cleaning process, and with 70% of marketers concerned about the consent of the data that they use there is a definite need to verify any data you hold on a regular basis. Consistent verification of any email addresses and telephone numbers is vital to not only stay within the law but also to make sure that your campaigns are as successful as possible; you don’t want your marketing team’s time and budget wasted because your business’s database is incorrect.

The Positives To Take Home

What we can also do is ensure that we plan for these changes by conducting database cleaning and making sure that the data you have and perhaps data you want to purchase is not a duplication of what you have, has incorrect emails or other errors. Email is the one piece of information that has a higher turnaround of change, so the best thing about maintaining the data that you currently have and pursuing newer data is that you will not only be targeting the most receptive businesses and consumers but protecting your business at the same time.

By verifying your data in a timely fashion, say every 3 months, you will be making sure that you stay connected with your customers, maintaining the customer relationship and perhaps increasing business with them.